See How She Falls (14 page)

I
swallowed down my fear, pushing it aside to stand on shaky legs. I turned my
attention toward Aberto, no longer able to stomach the demon. Aberto moved
towards the sprawled man, a brilliant blue glow surrounding his body. The look
in Aberto’s eyes terrified me.

“Hello,
brother," the man sneered. Betrayal and shock quickly replaced the anger
upon Aberto’s face.

“It
cannot be. Why? Why would you do this? Why bring this destruction down upon the
earth we were sworn to protect? We are not meant to interfere! Do you not
understand the penalty for what you do?”

“Nothing
could be worse than this accursed existence," the man snarled. “Had I acted
all those years ago, perhaps I would not be here now. I will bring this world
to justice, the justice it deserves. No longer will I protect these undeserving
people. Instead, I will make them earn their forgiveness, earn their place in
the heavens. The darkness will come and it will purge the earth. Nothing can
stop it.” He disappeared into the fog with the demon, his words left to echo
through the emptiness.

Aberto
turned and came towards me slowly, a look of dismay upon his face.

“You
came," I croaked. My throat felt bruised from where I’d been held down.

“I
will always come.” Aberto reached his hand out to help me to my feet.

“Who
was he?” 

“He
is Emmanuel. He is an Old One.” Apparently, that was all Aberto would be
divulging. With the shock of it all, I wasn’t interested in pressing. All I
wanted to do was sleep, to actually sleep and rest for more than five minutes.

“Can
you help me sleep?” 

“I
can.” Aberto placed his hands on either side of my face to whisper a binding
that would prevent me from dreaming, but allow me to rest.

Thankfully,
all that remained was the beautiful oblivion.

Being
pulled from sleep by Kennan’s voice startled me. I felt like I hadn’t slept at
all and my throat and arm felt as though I had been beaten. Oh yeah, I had. I
tried to sit up but fell back against the pillows abruptly.

“Izzy,
hold still. The Grand Seer is trying to treat your rune.” Kennan pushed gently
against my shoulders to hold me in place.

“Which
one was it this time? Which rune?” My voice came out a strained rasp.

“It
is Kalc," my aunt muttered, doing her best not to touch my skin directly.

 I
was so tired of being unable to touch anyone but Aberto. It had been months
since I’d been able to have my naughty way with Kennan. I missed him. I missed
his touch. If anything, I wanted to end all of this just so that I could get
laid again. Was that so wrong?

“What’s
it mean?” I whispered.

“It
roughly translates to chalice or offerings.” She paused for a moment, finishing
up my bandage, “There, all finished. Now, we should get you some food. I will
have it brought here because you don’t seem exactly mobile at the moment.”

“Thank
you.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly before she left the room.

“What
happened in the dreaming? Aberto came back furious and then disappeared once he
saw you were safe.” Kennan gently stroked my forehead, careful to avoid contact
with any of my other skin.

“Aberto
knows the man orchestrating whatever this is. He’s an Old One, Kennan.” My
throat felt as though it were lit by fire. I honestly didn’t think I would be
able to talk much more.

“Explain
this.” Kennan pointed toward my neck and what I was sure was a gnarly bruise.

“I
foolishly tried to figure out who we are up against. He didn’t like being
unmasked.” Swallowing back any further words, I winced.

“Just
rest. If you can bring Aberto back, that would probably be a good thing. We
need to know what he knows.” Kennan rose to his feet and walked to the other
side of the room to lean against the dresser. I could see the tension rippling
through his back as he stood there. He knew that time was running out, and he
was doing everything he could to hide his concern.

“We
are going to make it," I promised, as much for myself as for him. I needed
to hope that the prophecy could be rewritten.

“You
better be right. I can’t do this without you, Red. You’ve been my life longer
than I can remember. No more dying, no more risky stunts, no more rushing into
the fray. Got it?” Kennan returned to sit next to me on the bed as the door
opened.

“I
have some grub for you.” Sena came in and stopped wide-eyed. “Holy crap! What
happened to your neck? Is he beating you? Because, I’ll totally kick his ass if
he is.” She nodded toward an incredulous Kennan.

“Happened
in the dreaming," I wheezed.

“Ah,
so they pulled ya back in again. Do you mind if I take a look at your
protection marks?” Sena moved towards me, setting the food down on the dresser
as she came.

“Umm,
no?” It didn’t seem wise to argue with her at any rate. She was the sort to
just plow on through without a second thought.

I
sat up slowly, lifting my shirt so that she could see my marks.

“Well,
if those aren’t working, then nothing will. Does Abe know they aren’t working?”

I
nodded, afraid to speak much more.

“Hmm,
fat lot of good his skills are doing for you. Well, eat up. If what they say is
true, this could be one of your last meals.” She paused for a moment, surprised
by her own words. “Oh, I am so sorry, that was so rude. Sometimes I just don’t
have a filter. Everything that passes through my head comes out of my mouth.
Just forget what I said. We are going to try and do everything we can to keep
you safe. Yeah, well. I’m gonna go now.” She rushed from the room causing me to
snicker.

“She’s
interesting," Kennan muttered.

I
nodded in agreement, doing my best to inch my way towards the food, only to be
pushed down by Kennan.

“I’ll
get it. You just save your energy. Who knows what random acts of insanity you
will need to perform today.” He smiled brightly as he brought my food over.
“After breakfast, you need to get Aberto here. We need to figure out what we’re
going to do. I can’t just sit around any longer, Izzy. We need to do
something.”

“I
know," I rasped. My throat was starting to feel better already, which
brought a whole new concern to the foreground. If that was another change, then
would I end up like Aberto? He could heal quickly, and if I were starting to
heal like him did that mean that I would also end up stuck in between planes
for the rest of forever? Terrified by the prospect of spending an eternity
neither here nor there, I decided to turn my attention to something else. No
sense in worrying about something that hadn’t even happened yet.

“Well,
eat now, and we’ll get everyone together to figure this out.” Kennan rubbed his
hand down his face heading out of the room. Presumably, to gather everyone to
formulate some sort of plan.

I
looked around the empty room and wondered how we were ever going to cram
everyone in here. I wished that there was some way for me to heal the runes,
the way my throat was healing. I brushed off the self-pity and delved into my
food. Thank God it was something soft and familiar, grits. I shoveled them down
thinking of Aberto, and his reaction to Emmanuel. Things had just taken a giant
turn for the worse and I knew it. Whatever came next was going to be a whole
heaping ton of suck.

Chapter
Seventeen

“I
should not have abandoned you. Forgive me?” Aberto appeared in my room before
anyone else was able to return, startling me from my food reverie.

“Bells!”
I rasped, startled.

“What?”
Aberto’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“You
need to wear them.” I gave him a stern look before returning my attention to my
deliciously buttery grits.

“Is
your throat not healing?” Aberto never would dignify my bells idea with a response.
One of these days I was going to buy him one of those jingle bell anklets and
strap it on him when he was unaware.

“It
feels better than it did when I woke up," I supplied between bites.

“Perhaps
your being unable to speak will work to our advantage. I may just be able to
get through my story without your interrupting with a thousand unimportant
questions.” Aberto gave me one of his rare half-smiles as he lowered into the
chair closest to the bed. My arm acted of its own accord to smack him.

“Ha.
Ha," I wheezed. I figured sign language was probably going to be our best
means of communication so I motioned for him to continue.

“Emmanuel
is one of the Old Ones, the first of our kind. I knew years ago that he had
taken it into his head to bring forth a darkness, but he only had the help of
some inferior Guardians and Seers. Ultimately, Cait was able to undo his
bindings by sacrificing herself for the sake of those she loved. Emmanuel
disappeared after that. All that knew he’d been there had assumed that the gods
had finally taken him under their judgment.” Aberto dropped his head into his
hands. “I didn’t know, Izzy. I had no way of knowing that he had survived and
still plotted to bring about this ridiculous scheme. Why did the gods not
punish him for his acts? Why has he been left to do his bidding?” Aberto looked
at me, pain lacing his eyes.

“Because
all things have their time, dear one.” Mona entered the room so quietly,
neither of us had noticed her entrance.

“Is
this from you, or them?” Aberto asked, distain dripping from every word.

“From
experience. Do you not remember uttering those words yourself to my dear niece?
All things have a season, do not lose your faith. If you cannot believe enough
to stand, then we shall all fall.” My aunt rested a hand on his shoulder before
turning back to me. “As for you, let’s get you propped up and a bit more
presentable, shall we?”

She
moved toward me and pulled me up to rest more comfortably against the pillows.
I was starting to feel like an invalid. After getting me resettled, she grabbed
a makeup remover cloth from my bag and set out to clean my mascara stained
face. I didn’t even remember putting it on in the first place.

“There
now, much better.” She left her hand resting on my cheek, the same way my
mother had. Tears sprung in my eyes. I was grateful to have something of my
mother back. Even if she wasn’t my mother, she was my blood.

I
nodded as the rest of the group filed in. Conall tried to move next to Sena,
who abruptly shot across the room to stand next to my aunt. I’d thought Ian had
trouble with Molly. It appeared Conall was in for way more trouble than even
Ian had faced. It served him right to get someone as sassy as her though. Maybe
she would make him less serious.

“We
need to discuss what our next step will be. Now that Izzy only has one mark
left before the bridge is complete, we must formulate a plan.” Kennan addressed
the group with the same military efficiency that he’d used at the warehouse.

“Emmanuel
is orchestrating it," Aberto supplied.

“I
thought he’d been dealt with. Was he not the cause of the scourge all those
years ago?” Conall’s anger radiated throughout the room.

“He
disappeared. None of us knew he was still walking this plane. I assure you, we
had no knowledge of his survival," Aberto pledged.

“If
it didn’t work last time, why is he doing it again?” I wheezed.

“Rest
your voice, Izzy," everyone admonished. Sheesh, you would think a girl
asked too many questions or something.

“Something
is different this time.” Aberto rubbed his hand through his hair, mulling over
what could be happening.

“Do
you think someone is helping him?” Kennan pinned Aberto with his gaze.

“I
do. The question remains, who?” Aberto supplied. “Whomever they are, they are
far more powerful than the allies he amassed during his last attempt. These
people have power.”

“So,
what can we do if we don’t know who is behind it?” Sena questioned. I was glad
that someone else was there to ask, since I wasn’t allowed to talk. I gave Sena
a quick smile to thank her for doing the job of asking a gazillion questions
for me.

“We
can prepare," Conall supplied.

“Oh
really, dog boy? How exactly do you expect to prepare if you don’t even know
where they are going to attack?” Sena crossed her arms and eyed Conall who
traced across the room quickly to stand over her. “You better not start peeing
all over my stuff, mister," Sena muttered, looking up into Conall’s face
defiantly.

“You
will no longer call me that wretched name. Are we understood?” Conall’s voice
came through gritted teeth. He looked down at her with anger and amazement.

“Fine.
But I’m serious about the peeing on my stuff. You better not do it," Sena
huffed, nonplussed by Conall’s anger.

“Why
is she calling him a dog?” I whispered to Kennan.

“Umm,
well," Kennan paused, trying to avoid the truth.

“It
is time that she knows the truth, Guardian," Aberto said calmly. He was
completely unaffected by the chaos erupting in the room around him.

“There
is something that we can do, an ancient magic that calls back to our
beginnings.” Kennan paused trying to find the right words. “You know how you
have been manifesting new talents since Aberto breathed part of his soul into
you? Well, there is a sort of marking that can call forth our ancient talents.
Talents that were repressed for a reason. If a battle is coming, it is one way
we can prepare to take on the demon.”

“So,
what are you saying? Does Conall turn into a collie or something?” My voice was
finally starting to sound a modicum of normal.

“I
am not a lap dog, Izzy.” Conall glared at me as he moved away from Sena to
retake his spot across the room. “Our talents are associated with our names. We
were given specific names upon birth for this reason.”

“So
what is your talent? What does your name mean?” I asked Kennan.

“Do
you remember when I asked you not to be scared by what you saw in the visions
of Cait? I was afraid you would see what I turned into.” 

“What
do you turn into? Stop stalling.” 

“My
name means ancient. One of the earliest gifts bestowed upon our kind, if you
wish to call it that, is the gift of unhinged rage. Some have called us
berserkers. I morph and change into a rage filled, mindless creature.”

“So,
you are like the Incredible Hulk?” My eyes were wide. I wondered if he turned
green and yelled “Hulk Smash.”

“Yes,
but without the green. And no, I don’t say Kennan Smash.” He knew me too well.

“So,
what about you?” I asked Conall.

“My
name means strong wolf," Conall supplied.

I
started laughing uncontrollably. Suddenly, Sena’s comments about dog boy and
peeing on her stuff made a whole lot more sense. Then I got the image of a wolf
wearing an eye patch in my head and there was no coming back.

“I
think that she’s finally cracked, brother," Conall muttered to Kennan.

“Just
give her a moment.” 

“Do
you still wear the eye patch when you are all wolfed out? Please tell me that
you do. Oh, are you like a werewolf? Do full moons make you want to chase your
tail?”

“I’m
not a werewolf. Have you not listened to anything, woman? I become a wolf in
the same way that Kennan morphs into a berserker. It is a repressed, or
dormant, talent. So no, I don’t chase my tail at the full moon, and no I don’t
wear my eye patch in wolf form.” Conall didn’t seem to find the situation as
funny as I did. I couldn’t understand how he didn’t find it at least a little
bit amusing. A dog with an eye patch, it was funny. I didn’t care what he said.

“Sorry,"
I muttered, only half meaning it. “So, that is the best plan we have? You guys
get the gang back together and tap into your old school talents and fight the
demon? We don’t even know where the durn thing will surface.” 

“It
will surface wherever you are. That is one of the few things working to our
advantage," Aberto added.

“Why
did you not tell us this when it was Cait’s life on the line?” Conall was
growing angrier as the moments passed. I’d wondered when this would come up for
some time and I was surprised that it had taken so long.

“Her
destiny was sealed.” Aberto’s answer did nothing to subdue Conall.

“As
is Izzy’s, yet you consistently intercede on her behalf.”

“Would
you rather I let her die?” Aberto asked calmly.

“That
isn’t what I mean. I want to know what makes now different than then? What
about her makes you step in when it is meant to be forbidden?” Conall got
dangerously close to Aberto, staring up into his face defiantly.

“When
the gods speak, I listen. I was given an order to protect Izzy at all costs.”
Aberto stood to his towering height and looked down at Conall. “Cait knew her
destiny was sealed. She had a choice, as does Izzy, to allow the darkness to
reign or put an end to it. Do not let her sacrifice be in vain. Do not allow
your petty resentment to cloud your judgment and distract you from today’s goal.
Yesterday is gone and can never be repeated. Things lost cannot be
returned," Aberto said the last looking at me. I wasn’t sure if he was
just looking at me or trying to deliver another one of his infamous cryptic
messages. I’d given up long ago trying to decipher his hidden messages. Until
he gave me the secret decoder ring, I was done.

“But
why now? Just answer that, satisfy our curiosity. I’m not the only one that
questions your motives. In a time of treachery, such as this, it is best to
know everyone’s intentions.” Conall wouldn’t let it go.

“Why
now? Because Izzy is important, not just to this world, but to me. She saved me
from a darkness none of you will ever know and I cannot let that kind of a gift
go ignored. Why her? She is bigger than all of us, bigger than anything any of
us will ever be able to imagine. Her destiny has been written in the stars
since the dawn of time. Why her? She is the light that shines brightest when
nothing else but darkness exists. Her light matters, and I will do all in my
power to ensure that it never gets extinguished.” Aberto faded in a cloud of
anger, leaving us all staring at where he’d been moments before. I was pretty
sure I was the only one that Aberto gave long speeches to, and mostly they were
to yell at me to stop being a baby. He’d just laid down some serious stuff at
everyone’s feet and vanished without so much as a goodbye.

“Well,
looks like you pissed Abe off," Sena supplied.

“Thanks
Captain Obvious," Conall huffed, turning to leave the room. I was so proud,
it looked like I’d rubbed off on him after all. Even if it was just one phrase,
I would get him there eventually.

“What?
What did I do this time?” Sena threw her hands up and fell into the chair that
Aberto had occupied earlier. “I really should get some sort of filter installed
up here. Do you think Abe has a marking for that?”

“I
have no idea.” I smiled at Sena, wondering how I could find someone so socially
inept so likeable. Oh, that’s right, she reminded me of myself.

“Well
now you know why I called him dog boy.” 

“How
did you know that he could do that? I’ve known these guys for a while now and I
had no clue.” I looked at her in wonder, there was something so familiar about
her.

“Cait
was my, wait for it, great aunt. The stories have been passed down through our
family about that day. It is really something I need to ask you about, when you
have some private time.” Sena looked down at her hands, mumbling the last part.

“Well,
it seems that this meeting has gone awry, and I can’t really get up and leave.
So, now works if you’ve got the time.”

“Do
you think we may be able to speak privately?” Sena looked around the room at
everyone that still lingered.

“You
aren’t planning to shank me or anything are you?”

“No,
if I’d wanted to do that, I already would have.”

“Well,
that’s a comfort.” I paused looking over to where Kennan and my aunt were in a
deep discussion. He looked up to catch my eyes and moved towards me.

“What
is it, Red?” Kennan’s eyes were filled with concern, as if I would reject him
now that I knew he turned into a big hulking beast.

“Sena
needs to talk to me, and she doesn’t want to have an audience. Do you think
that maybe I can talk to her alone? She promised not to shank me," I
provided.

“Sure,
I’ll be right outside talking with Mona if you need me.”

“I
love you, big guy. Nothing will ever change that.” I reached up and grabbed his
hand before he left. Even with the world at stake, he was still the most
important thing to me.

Chapter
Eighteen

 As
everyone left the room, I turned my attention back to Sena. She seemed so
young, somehow, sitting there in front of me.

“What
did you want to talk about?”

“The
stories of you.”

“Oh,
don’t believe anything anyone has told you. Or, you know, if it is good then
believe that part. Listen, I’m just getting the hang of this whole Seer thing.
I don’t really know what I’m doing.” I was starting to do my whole nervous
rambling thing, and I knew it.

“Would
you put a sock in it, already? This isn’t about the fact that you are fumbling
through being a Seer like some sort of drunk person playing pin the tail on the
donkey. This is about the stories, the stories of Cait and the message she sent
through our family for generations to make sure it got to you.” 

“Oh!
There’s a message?”

“Yeah,
oh.” Sena looked at me impatiently. “I need you to grab my hand. You have to
flip through my memories to find it. She said that you would know it when you
saw it and to let go and find her.”

“But,
she was trapped there all those years. She’s finally moved on. Won’t this just
pull her back to this plane?”

“No,
this is an echo. She made a permanent recording in our collective memory so
that you would know what she knew in the end.”

“Just
be careful not to touch the runes, okay?” I held my hand out towards Sena,
almost afraid of what awaited.

“Are
you ready? Focus on Cait, and you should find it pretty quickly.”

Sena’s
cold hand entwined with mine sending me spiraling through her history. Not just
her history, but her whole family’s collective history. It was the most bizarre
thing I’d ever experienced while trying to memory sift.

“Izzy,"
I heard Cait’s voice call out. I stopped sifting and immediately walked toward
where she stood on the scorched earth. “It has taken you far longer to find me
than I’d hoped.”

“Wait,
I thought you were just a memory.”

“I
told them that so they would not fret over me. The gods bid me to tell you of
what comes. You can defeat it, if you wish.” Cait cocked her head to the side
as if questioning whether or not I would stand against the darkness.

“Of
course I want to defeat it.”

“You
misunderstand me. The power to defeat the beast comes from within you. If you believe
that you can destroy it, then you will. I believed my sacrifice would stop it,
and it did.”

“So
you are telling me to have faith that I am enough. What if I believe that I can
stop it without dying? Will that also happen?”

“All
things have a price, Izzy. You must be willing to pay the price for what you
seek. The price for the eternal end to this darkness is that you must fall. If
you do not, if you fail to do what you are called to do, then the darkness will
once more return to reign eternal. You need to look within yourself and find
what is most important to you. Is it your life that matters, or the life of
those that you love? What are you willing to do to protect them?”

“Everything,"
I breathed out. “It has to be this way then? I must sacrifice myself to save
everyone I love?”

“You
must be willing to sacrifice yourself to end the darkness.” Thanks cryptic
Cait. These people could seriously write books on how to be evasive.

“Is
that all you have for me? Believe it and it will happen?” It sounded like some
absurd self-affirmation bologna.

“I
have one more piece of advice before you go. Try not to let what is coming pull
you into the darkness. It is tempting to let it overtake you. You are much
stronger than I ever was, you must fight it. If you roll over now, you will
never again get up.”

“Okay,
so drink some water and suck it up. Anything else?”

“Tell
Conall to be nice to my Sena. She hasn’t had an easy road.” Cait smiled softly
as reality came crashing back in.

Sena
broke contact abruptly, sweat drenched her brow.

“Are
you alright? Did I hurt you?” I was worried that I somehow did something wrong.
I wasn’t exactly an expert at any of this yet.

“I
heard everything while you were there. That was the most bizarre thing I’ve
ever been a part of. And what the heck does she mean about Conall being nice to
me?” Sena paused for a moment and then her eyes grew as large as saucers. “Oh
no! No. No. Just no. This can’t be happening. Not dog boy.” Sena stood and
started pacing the floor. Her hands shaking as she looked up towards the sky.
“Really, him? It couldn’t have been a nice, normal, Order Guardian?”

“For
what it’s worth, he isn’t that bad. You could always dress him up like a pirate
on Halloween. That would be a perk.” 

“Oh,
you’ve got jokes, do you?” Sena plopped heavily back in the seat, her hands
shaking. “Well, what am I supposed to do now? He doesn’t even like me, for
crying out loud. I always thought I would end up in some romantically charged
match like you and Kennan have. Are you telling me that I am cursed to the
platonic playground for the rest of my very long life?”